


Warm Summer Nights

by rg (sk8r_boi)



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Character Study, Compromise, Established Relationship, M/M, Post-Canon Cardassia, Sharing a Bed, Slice of Life, uhh idk its cardassia and its hot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:35:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29092851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sk8r_boi/pseuds/rg
Summary: Its summer in Cardassia and its hot. Garak loves to bathe in the heat. Julian, not so much.
Relationships: Julian Bashir/Elim Garak
Comments: 6
Kudos: 59





	Warm Summer Nights

**Author's Note:**

> uwu whats this my first ever fic??? (unless u count the over indulgent team jacob twilight stuff i wrote back in the day) pls be nice lmao  
> Its winter and i was missing the summer so i decided to write about our favourite galactic couple :)

The night was warm. Cardassian summers were no joke, and Julian was quick to find this out. The heat of the day hardly dissipated at night; instead, it lingered in the bricks of the houses and the humidity in the air.

The companions lay apart above the blankets on their bed. Garak could feel Julian’s sweaty fingers from where they held hands and dozed.

Garak bathed in the warm air. After years of being stationed on foreign planets and exile on a cold husk of a space station, he vowed he would never tire of Cardassia’s life giving heat. When he first gazed at the orange sky upon returning to his homeland, he understood why his Hebitian ancestors worshiped the resilient sun and land and not the treacherous state.

He cursed himself for the thought. He’s becoming soft in his old age. The treacherous state? The state that served the same sun he worshiped? No. That’s why he was here, to rebuild Cardassia’s proud legacy.

It was only unfortunate that his mammalian lover was built for a more temperate climate. How such delicate creatures of Earth came to such galactic power was beyond him. Garak recalled their time together on the cold station. When the bright light and bleak metal bulkheads got the best of him, Julian would pull him close and somehow the warmth they shared pushed it all away. As much as Julian loved him, Garak knew better than to try and cling to him on the warmest night so far this year.

But no matter. Instead of being embraced by his flesh-and-blood lover, he would be embraced by the warm air of Cardassia, his first, most sure love.

***

Fuck its hot its hot its hot its hot its hot. That and other such eloquent musings were running through Julian’s mind. How could Garak’s skin still feel smooth and cool? To be fair, pretty much anything other than the stark humidity and his own sweaty skin felt cool to Julian. He opened one eye and peeked at Garak, who was lying peacefully, in a soldier’s pose, with one hand on his chest and the other over Julian’s hand. Julian, on the other hand, was sprawled on his stomach with his limbs stretched trying to shed some of his body heat (which wasn’t winning against the humidity). Their house had air conditioning, but Garak looked so peaceful basking in the air, and Julian knew that after spending his exiled years on the “cold” Deep Space Nine he could let Garak be the comfortable one for once.

But fuck its hot.

Julian debated slipping of bed and into the study in the next room, although he didn’t want to wake his peaceful companion. But he could crank up the sweet AC in the next room, and sleep on the chair. Between working at the hospital, consulting with the new Cardassian government, and keeping up with his research and knowledge at home, they had decided to outfit a room in their house that was more amenable to Julian’s “delicate” physiology. It had the best AC (that was available on the recovering planet), and Garak insisted on keeping several Earth plants there, citing something Keiko said about the benefits of plant life to a human brain. Julian had no luck keeping them alive, but his plain, simple tailor happened to be a gardener in a past life. How useful.

They had also installed a “sun lamp” in the study that Julian spent any available hour looking at and working under. As much as Julian liked to joke about Garak basking in any and all heat sources, Garak could say the exact same for Julian and light. However, Garak couldn’t deny the positive effect it had on his dear doctor.

***

Julian decided to make his move. He removed his hand from beneath Garak’s and slowly climbed off of the bed. He thought he had made it undetected until he reached the bedroom door to walk out.

“My dear, where are you going? Are all right?” Garak spoke from the bed, not a hint of tiredness in his voice. He didn’t even open his eyes, or move his position.

Of course. Silly me to think I could evade my dear spy so easily, Julian joked to himself.

“It’s hot. I’ll sleep in the study with the AC”

“We have AC in this room”

“But you look so happy. I know how much you love the heat” Julian responded gently. He waited, gazing at his lover, seemingly asleep, while he came up with a response. Garak paused only for a moment.

“That is true. But I daresay I love you more.” Garak didn’t even stir after his confession, and Julian smiled to himself. He felt his chest tighten and his cheeks flush due to something other than the heat. Even after all their time together, he still could barely believe when Garak showed his true thoughts and feelings and choices.

“Come back. Make the air cooler. You’ll be more comfortable on the bed.”

Unable to argue, Julian quietly turned on the conditioning in the room and laid back next to Garak.

The conditioner hummed as it gradually cooled the room. After five minutes, Garak reached for a blanket by the side of his bed. After ten, he reached for his Julian. He pressed himself back and didn’t complain that he would be too hot. As he pressed a kiss to the back of his love’s next, he decided that he would take the cool embrace of his love over the warm embrace of Cardassia over and over.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! Feel free to leave a comment or a kudos perhaps <3


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